US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick hits out at ‘unfair’ scoring system for $18m FedEx Cup… with Englishman to start seven shots behind top-ranked Scottie Scheffler at East Lake
- Players in the 30-man field at season-ending event handed a starting score
- Top-ranked Scheffler will tee off at East Lake on Thursday on 10 under par
- 15th-place Fitzpatrick to start on -3, one shot behind No 6 Cameron Smith
Matt Fitzpatrick has criticised the ‘strange’ system used to determine the winner of £15million FedEx Cup ahead of its finale this week.
Under the existing handicapping format, players in the 30-man field at the season-ending Tour Championship have been handed a starting score relative their FedEx ranking through the PGA Tour’s play-offs.
It means that top-ranked Scottie Scheffler will tee off at East Lake on Thursday on 10 under par, while No 2 Patrick Cantlay is at eight under. Where 15th-place Fitzpatrick takes exception is that his starting point of three under is excessively generous in comparison to Open champion Cameron Smith, who has only a one-shot advantage despite finishing nine spots higher in sixth.
Matt Fitzpatrick has criticised the ‘strange’ system used to determine the winner of FedEx Cup
Fitzpatrick, the winner of the US Open in a sterling season, said: ‘I have never played anything like it. The guy that finished sixth (Smith) is only one shot ahead of me (which) I think is probably a little bit unfair. I feel like he probably should be more.’
Fitzpatrick also queried the weighting system of the play-off events, whereby wins at the St Jude Championships and BMW Championships in the past fortnight have been worth 2,000 points to the victor, which in turn has decided where players rank going into this week’s shootout for the £15m jackpot. As a means of comparison, winning one of the majors would only be worth 600 points, whereas a regular Tour event would earn 500.
Fitzpatrick said: ‘I just think that the points in these last (events), it’s just a little bit too much. I gave the example of Collin Morikawa last year going into the play-offs second or whatever he was, had a phenomenal season, and I actually spoke to him about it last week, and he defended it (finishing 26th after the play-offs). He’s got more class than me, I guess. I’d be fuming if I was him.
‘I did have a thought that somehow the play-offs could be match play somehow where it’s a bit more realistic to every other sports play-offs if that’s the way the Tour want to go. But yeah, I just think the heavy points for these last three is a little strange.’
The US Open champion also queried the weighting system of the play-off events
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